The Amazon Basin is one of the largest equatorial forests on earth.  Far from being an untouched bioma the Amazon has a rich and instigating sociobiodiversity that can be apprehended in its uniqueness since pre-colombian times.  History, culture, politics correlated with hydrology, climate and ecology are elements for the understanding of contemporary dynamics in the Amazon.  The course aims towards an interdisciplinary approach of the Amazon as a unique ecosystem in Latin America which reflects a myrad of questions crucial for the understanding not only of South America but of nature and society in modern times.